How summer solstice is celebrated around the world

Midsummer occurs in each hemisphere annually, when one of the earth's poles has maximum tilt toward the sun. The result is the sun reaching its highest position in the sky, causing the longest day of the year. For thousands of years, the solstice has drawn cultures together for ancient celebrations, from gatherings at Stone Henge to romantic rituals in Belarus. Here are 8 ways people will be marking summer solstice 2019.

Friday 21 June 2019

At Stonehenge in Wiltshire, crowds congregate at the Neolithic monument on the longest day of the year, where it’s believed that people have gathered for thousands of years. No alcohol is allowed other than ceremonial mead.

Saturday 6 – Sunday 7 July 2019

Chaplets (a kind of religious garland) float on a river in the town of Turov in Belarus as part of pagan summer solstice festival Ivan Kupala Day, which is celebrated in a handful of Eastern European countries. The floating flowers are set off by young women, who try to gain insight into the future of their romantic relationships from the way they float.

Monday 24 June 2019

Denmark’s Midsummer celebrations coincide with marking the birth of John the Baptist, who was supposedly born six months before Jesus. Danes believe that summer solstice is when witches make their way to the Brocken, a point in the mountains of Germany.

Saturday 22 June 2019

In the Catalan region of Spain, the townspeople of Berga (near Barcelona) dress up as mystical or religious characters with typical ‘big head’ masks in a celebration that dates back to the Middle Ages.

Saturday 22 June 2019

In Tyrol, high in the Austrian Alps, 8,000 fires are lit in the Mieminger mountain range and beyond. Effigies and symbols that draw on religion, local mythology, nature and current events are chosen by Tyrol locals to burn. The details are kept a secret until the evening of the Summer Solstice. As the sun sets, fires will be lit in Innsbruck and beyond.

Saturday 22 June 2019

Throughout the white nights of Midsummer across Finland, bonfires are lit, a throwback to hundreds of years ago when spells to increase fertility were cast by local people. Now, sauna bathing is a popular summer solstice ritual.

Friday 21 June 2019

In the Sierra Nevada, in Colombia, a Corpus Christi celebration sees locals dress as devils, with hundreds of teeny bells on their legs, who represent evil – they wear mirrors on their backs to harness the power of the sun on the longest day of the year. The ritual represents the fight between God and the Devil.

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